Sébastien Meyer & Arnaud Vaillant Named Artistic Directors Of Courrèges

[Marc10]

Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant have been named artistic directors of womenswear at Courrèges, the brand known for its space-age effect on fashion. The pair previously ran their own label, Coperni , which they will put on hold while they focus on their new roles - even though it is among the eight finalists selected for the forthcoming LVMH Prize.

"They are incredibly talented. They have run their own firm, which means they consider both the creative and commercial aspect of what they do - the wearability of their clothes," Jacques Bungert, co-owner and co-president of Courrèges along with Frederic Torloting, told WWD. "They are passionate about fabrics and fabrications, which is clear from their work and matters a lot to us, because at Courrèges, fabric is king."

The duo will showcase their first collection for the brand for spring/summer 2016, although in what capacity it's not yet known. They are the first official designers to take on the brand since Andre Courrèges and his wife Coqueline sold it in 2011.In the interim, there have been collaborations with Eastpak, Evian and Estée Lauder and collections have been created by an in-house team - a mini return to Paris Fashion Week was made last season.

"There is one fundamental in the work of André and Coqueline Courrèges that touches us in particular: youth. It gives us strength to believe that with Courrèges, anything is possible, even the most ambitious dreams," said the design duo.

Focus for the label will now be on expanding its retail presence as well as taking back its perfume license.

Meyer and Vaillant, 26 and 25 respectively, already boast a successful fashion CV, having scooped last year's ANDAM First Collections Prize as well as the aforementioned LVMH nod.

vogue.co.uk

 

[Marc10]

What Becoming the Artistic Directors of Courrèges Really Means to the Duo Behind Coperni

The designer shuffle of late has edged a little toward the expected: a Valentino-trained couturier at Schiaparelli, New York’s coolest pair from Public School at DKNY. Leave it to the team at Courrèges to spice things up. This morning the house announced Coperni Femme’s Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant as its new artistic directors.

Meyer and Vaillant are known for their sporty, mod designs at Coperni but are in no way the seasoned industry players that are normally selected for these types of appointments. That’s not to say they aren’t talented. In the two years since launching their brand, they’ve received ample critical acclaim, won an ANDAM prize, and have been nominated for this year’s LVMH Prize. And in their mid-20s, the duo has what it takes to understand the core of the Courrèges brand: youth.

“Paris has all the most beautiful houses of the world, but recently London and New York have been really young and cool and creative, and I think that we have to do our best to do the same in Paris right now with Courrèges,” Vaillant explained to Style.com this afternoon over the phone from Paris. To the designer, the concept of youth is truly integral, not only to the current mood of fashion, but to the core of the Courrèges brand. “There is something that I like to say: There is a before and after Courrèges [in time], which means that at one time, all the girls wanted to dress like their mothers. Then Courrèges arrived and created the opposite: All the mothers wanted to look like their daughters!” he laughed, adding, “People say that when you wear Courrèges, you feel like 10 years younger, and we like that idea.”

For Vaillant and Meyer, the transition to Courrèges starts next week, when they’ll begin planning their Spring 2016 collection for the house. “We really want to start with iconic pieces, and then work around that,” he offered. “I think that today Courrèges needs to have the right pieces, and the offerings in the market today are so huge. There are thousands of brands and trends, and we need to focus on the jackets—everybody knows the Courrèges jackets—the coats, the skirts.” As for other items synonymous with the house, like sunglasses or shoes, Vaillant and Meyer think those might come along a little later. “Garments are super-important, but image is super-important, as well, and the image is the sunglasses and the bags and the shoes—everything. So we’re going to have an eye on those things, but our main purpose in the beginning—I mean, next week we start with the clothes, and then it’s going to be very natural, I think,” Vaillant offered.

While the pair is “so, so happy and proud and honored” to have been selected to revamp one of France’s most storied houses, taking the position has been a little bittersweet. In assuming their roles at Courrèges, Vaillant and Meyer have chosen to shutter Coperni Femme—its Fall 2015 collection will have been its last. “We thought about it for weeks, and it was a very hard decision because Coperni is the most beautiful project we’ve ever had so far, but in life I think that you have to make choices, and when you make choices you have to renounce other things. At this stage of Coperni, we don’t have the structure and the people to make it happen,” Vaillant said, explaining that at the moment Coperni was run mainly by himself and Meyer alone. “If we are focused the whole day, giving all our energy for Courrèges, I don’t see how we can do Coperni at night and on Sunday,” he laughed.

The pair is none too displeased with their decision, though—and neither is the fashion world. The proliferation of excited articles announcing their appointment has made for a “very emotional day” for the pair, as have the calls from their friends and supporters in the industry. “The people from the ANDAM contest, from the LVMH contest, everybody from those groups congratulated us, saying it was a great opportunity for us and for Courrèges.” As for what else we can expect from the new Courrèges, Vaillant offered only a hint: “We have a very ambitious project—I can’t say now because it’s too early, even for us, but we really want to develop a beautiful thing with Courrèges, and I hope it’s going to work great.”

style

While i'm sad that they're stopping Coperni, i'm also super excited to see what they'll do here. Courrèges has such a fantastic heritage and these guys have what it takes to make it justice.

 

[perhydrol]

I'm excited and worried about them at the same time. Do we new another Paco Rabanne-ish maison? They are really talented, but I don't know what to think about this whole re-opening trend (e.g. Schiaparelli, it's not good at all). And I think it's hard to work for Courreges, it's an iconic house with certain image.

 

[eugenius]

And let me guess..these guys will be there for 2 years, then get kicked out..then get replaced by another obscure designer, who'll be there for 1 year, and then get kicked out..then replaced by some superstar designer, who'll be there for many years, but churn out a bunch of collections where we TFSers will say "This isn't Courreges."

Right?

 

[Thefrenchy]

I'm curious to see how this will turn out. I liked their work for their own brand (sad they're putting it on hold though) so we'll see...

 

[squilliam]

I feel like every time a house has been revived lately (and they're doing that a lot nowadays), the result is an underwhelming mess that does not represent the brand and you just get collections and designers and executives who are lost and desperate and confused. I don't want these great named to suffer the same fate as Ungaro and Halston

 

[LadyJunon]

And let me guess..these guys will be there for 2 years, then get kicked out..then get replaced by another obscure designer, who'll be there for 1 year, and then get kicked out..then replaced by some superstar designer, who'll be there for many years, but churn out a bunch of collections where we TFSers will say "This isn't Courreges."

Right?

You predicted exactly what happened to Courrèges. That said, Di Felice isn't really a superstar designer and the TFSers generally like his collections.

 

[eugenius]

You predicted exactly what happened to Courrèges. That said, Di Felice isn't really a superstar designer and the TFSers generally like his collections.

I wrote that post 9 years ago, when Courreges was barely a blip on the fashion-radar.

My, how the times have changed. These days, I wouldn't spend much time, if any, thinking and typing about any brands that don't pique my interest.